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Show "He are dedicated to the public interest, to fairness and accuracy, to innovation and growth, and to the restless pursuit of excellence." Pulitzer mission statement EDITOR: DONALD W. MEYERS as OPINIOJS me A6 BiTDces s Row poDScy mfw l,2(Xff ' : mropfty (Diro In a remarkable display of candor last month, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson offered an assessment administration's of the Clinton-Gorreadiness for rising gasoline prices, which may hit $2.50 a gallon in some parts of the country this summer. "It is obvious that the federal government was not prepared," y SB"-- 81 PIL SATURDAY. THE DAILY HERALD (www.HarkTheHerald.com) 344-254- 4 EDITORIAL ROUNDUP e "It is obvious that the . Richardson said Febrl6r "We-wer- federal government was not prepared. We were e- - caught napping." ' ' caught, napping." Actually, the, administration's domestic energy policies regula- tions restricting oil production, con- tinuing a ban on offshore drilling, extremist ideas on nuclear and hydroelectric power, closing off eral lands rich in coal deposits look more like a Rip Van Winkle slumber. While it's true the current spike in gasoline prices results largely from production limits set by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the larger question is why Bill Clinton and Al Gore have let the United States become so vulnerable to foreign producers' marketing whims. ... On Clintons watch America's capacity to produce its own oil has Energy Secretary Bill Richardson . and the is Whitewater machinations expected this summer. Although criminal conduct now has been ruled out, the fact remains that extremely sensitive data about private lives, made all the more sensitive because their validity had not been determined, came before unauthorized eyes. office employees Tug o war This editorial recently appeared in The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer. . withered. ..."Congress may consider ways to soften the impact of spiking fuel prices. It could do the nation a better favor by holding hearings on the lack of a coherent domestic energy strategy and by proposing ways to counter administration policies that have been neglectful and even hostile to the notion of an energy secure America. This editorial recently appeared in The It's amazing that in a nation that prides itself on keeping separate the institutions of church and state, national politicians have gotten themselves so wrapped up in a debate pitting Catholicism against Protestantism. On Thursday, House Speaker Dennis Hastert ended a controversy when he named the Rev. Daniel Coughlin, a Chicago priest, the new chaplain for the House of Representatives. Speaker Hastert, hardly deserves to be congratulated. It took r him months to finally name the Catholic priest to the position, and he did that only after the speaker's Protestant choice, the Rev. Charles Wright, a Presbyterian minister, removed his name from consideration. Speaker Hastert could have avoided controversy altogether by simply following the recommendation of the bipartisan committee that he formed to choose the new chaplain. That committee's first choice for the job was the Rev. Tim O'Brien, a Catholic priest, and committee members submitted his name along with those of two other Finalists, including the Rev. Wright. ... It was certainly a wise thing for the Rev. Wright to remove himself. No matter how qualified he is, his term in the House would have been forever associated with the allegations, of and that would have been unfair to him. Hopefully, the, Rev. Coughlin will be able to be a calming influence on the House, for if nothing else, the legislative body has demonstrated that they are in need of prayer. four-mont- "There are a lot of people who aren't willing to kill but are willing to die only for the ' child's rights," - h anti-Castr- o N THE U.S., &ND IS WNWfltCFTHfc IwrUCAIIONS ErABCSXEDTHtREM... ir THAT RIGHT, EUN7 Si. ., first-eve- Dailv Oklahoman. After almost four years of investigation under two independent coun sels, the Clinton administration embarrassment known as "Filegate" can be filed away. Although some 900 confidential FBI reports improperly fell into the hands of midlevel White House employees, "there was no substantial and credible evidence that any senior White House official, or First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, was involved in seeking confidential background reports ... of former White House staff from the administrations of President Bush and President Reagan." Thus Robert W. Ray, the independent counsel who replaced Kenneth Starr to wrap up that office's extensive investigations of the Clintons and their associates, has closed the least complicated of the three major areas of concern. Resolution of the remaining two , the firing of White House travel tU(N GONZAAEZ B&6S T6 RBERX-m- t . Ramon Saul Sanchez of the group Democracy Movement) calling for people to form a human chain to keep U.S. officials from deporting Elian Gonzalez. EUAN 60KZttZ UNDEKST&HDS CbrfUTEtY THE WXUfAMT HE r. "The only person that has the legal and moral authority to speak for Elian Gonzalez is his father." . Gregory Craig, an American lawyer representing Juan Miguel Gonzalez, Elian Gonzalez's father, in his attempt to bring his son back to Cuba. "DECISION R) "DEPORT HrATt) QJBA AS HE sXrCTSTOTWfcTffc BAKtXMANEKIWEEK... EUAN? Sl "This shouldn't be a political'"' issue." J Senate Minority Leader Tom on Vice President Daschle, Al Gore's endorsement of legislation' that would make Elian Gonzalez and his father U.S. citizens.' ., . ...IF EUAN RETURNS m , TO QJRA... V $kcfc... . This editorial recently appeared in The (New Orleans) Times-Picayun- e. Orem made 800 S. problem The desire to widen 800 S. between 400 and 800 East to make room for projected traffic increases caused by added retail, including a Costco store near University Mall, is addressed. A point :seems to be missed; The point is, the residents of the area were there first, it is their property and it is their business if they want to sell it or not. The city fathers created the problem by allowing Costco to build there in the first place. Why didn't they go up and down the street and ask the owners if they would be willing to sell, at a given price, because increased traffic was expected if they permitted Costco to build. Additionally, the fact that Costco's LETTERS TO THE EDITOR customers now find it inconvenient to go there because of congestion along 800 South is something that Costco should have looked into before build-inthere. They could have offered to buy out the residents before building, and if they did not want to sell, then Costco should have built elsewhere. It should not be the residents problem if they do not wish to sell, it should be Costco's; if Costco and their customers don't like it, it is just plain tough. George M. 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